Simon Jenkins is less than fair to Nick Clegg over AV (Comment, 7 July). Under our present system, one vote in a marginal constituency counts a thousand times more than most votes elsewhere. A hung parliament is surely preferable to those in which cabinets are ignored, backbenchers irrelevant, the City pandered to and an illegal invasion of Iraq accepted without proper scrutiny.

All-powerful prime ministers elected on a minority of the national vote should not be acceptable and would be most unlikely under a less-than perfect but better system than our existing one. While AV would reduce the unfairness in the present system, it would be impossible for Lib Dem MPs to get a fair proportion of seats to votes cast even then without a major swing in the public's choice.

Jenkins's preference for "a stable executive" rather than a hung parliament is exactly what got us into the present economic/foreign policy/military mess. The people about to lose their jobs in Britain and those with relations out in Afghanistan would probably settle for his "unstable politics of Germany".

NH Lamond

Rothesay, Isle of Bute

• What is the value of changing to AV in a two-horse constituency such as Winchester, where Labour's vote is nominal? As a Labour supporter, what will be the difference, under AV, in placing Labour as my first preference and Lib Dem second, to tactically voting under the present system? Either way I am just casting a vote for the Lib Dems. The only way my vote for Labour will influence the outcome nationally will be through a form of full proportional representation.

So how do I vote in Mr Clegg's referendum? For AV, giving the impression that I am in favour of a system I disagree with? Or for the status quo, giving the impression that I am in favour of the system staying as it is? Perhaps there should be a third box to tick – "neither".